The last time I worked at a management consultancy they described me as a distinguished technology specialist with a talent for analysing complex problems and defining workable solutions.
Today, I see myself as a humble semi-retired technologist and wordsmith with a commitment to explaining complexity in simple language that works for stakeholders, customers and fellow specialists and creating high quality formal business, project and product documentation.
I also have proven my worth as a marketing strategist and copywriter as well as running public sector ‘Comms’ functions. I prefer not to move between different formats in a single day however.
The unusual mix of skills came about as a result of starting out as a marketer before studying Software engineering and then forging a career from programming websites and data analytics to Solution architecture, CTO and Project/programme consulting. Paying attention to the problem before thinking about solutions is my secret sauce.
I retired from consulting in 2022 with the aim of working half or a little more of my time with a focus on freelance writing engagements within my areas of expertise. I also retain a small team of freelancers who can help me meet peak demand without returning to 60-hour weeks.
Previous clients include: BBC, Pearson, Sony, Sky, Questions Publishing, BECTA, COI, LSC, ICSA, BMG Research, Planning Portal, Carnival Cruise Lines, GEIS, Johnson & Johnson, Npower, Calor gas, IBM, Jaguar Land Rover, Spirax Sarco, De Montford, plus many smaller firms and sub-contract projects.
Some of my past clients
Technology experience
Not limited to: Programming; C, C#, VB4/5/6, VBA, ASP, HTML, JavaScript, basic PHP, Python, CSS, XML, JSON, REST, SOAP, COM(+). Building, designing and documenting APIs, Information Architecture. (Programming not on offer nowadays, unless as a favour occasionally.)
My 15 seconds
I conceptualised, designed, helped to code and launched what is still believed to be the first ever Social Media Platform. I did of course, steal the principle from Usenet.
Systems experience
Office development, Web development, Custom CMS development, NLP, Search engine design and development, Single Sign On, Cloud and technology, Kubernetes, ML, Excel Custom development, Data analysis projects, Data Integration programmes, CRM and ERP rollouts and integration, Workforce scheduling and planning, Education systems, academic publishing, Ontology and Taxonomy build and integration, Automated Marketing systems, Mautic, Mailchimp, more.
Qualifications and Certifications
BSc Computer Science from UCE, PGCert Organisation Analysis from Stanford; DSDM Practitioner, Scrum Product Owner, Prince 2 Practitioner, PMP, Zachman Practitioner, more.
Some recommendations
